DESCRIPTION (Applicant's abstract): Recent recommendations regarding standards of care for persons with mental illness suggest that all families be offered a psychosocial intervention which provides education and support about the illness, problem solving skills training, and family support (Lehman et al., 1998). One such intervention is the Journey of Hope (JOH) program. JOH is an 8-week education course taught by trained family instructors to other families of persons with mental illness. The purpose of the proposed project is to examine (1) the effectiveness of the JOH education course in improving families' ability to cope with relative's mental illness and (2) the extent to which families' improved coping affects their ill relative's service use. A total of 480 families (240 per condition) will be randomly assigned to either the JOH course or a 9-month course waiting list. Families and their ill relatives will be interviewed at three points in time: one month prior to the start of the course (baseline), at course termination (3 months post-baseline), and six month post-course termination (8 months post-baseline). Family interviews will assess knowledge of the etiology and treatment of mental illness, problem solving skills, well being, social support, and family relationships. Ill relative interviews will measure medication compliance, symptomatology, social functioning, and use of community mental health services. MANOVA and hierarchical regression analyses will be used to explore whether significant differences occur between the two conditions on the measures, and whether any gains maintained over time.